Abstract
Reciprocal Sensing is an alternative way of body mapping that draws from Indigenous Lenca ontologies, which understand matter as animate and relational. It expands body mapping to account for culturally specific contexts and ways of knowing. The proposed method invites participants to (1) link each felt experience to a worldly source (the non-human agent or co-actor) and (2) visualize the direction of these sensory flows. Using an autoethnographic approach, iterative body mapping sessions revealed recurring patterns of exchange between the body and its material environment. This informed the development of Reciprocal Sensing as a culturally situated, more-than-human perspective to soma design. Grounded in Honduran Lenca and Mestizo perspectives, our approach builds on embodied knowledge as shaped through environmental reciprocity and opens body mapping to reflect indigenous ways of such relational embodiment.
Keywords
Bodymapping, Soma Design, Indigenous Material Culture, More-than-Human Design
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.740
Citation
Alvarenga Medina, T., and Nitsche, M. (2026) Reciprocal Sensing: Expanding Body Mapping Through Lenca and Mestizo Ontologies of Relational Embodiment, in Simeone, L., Gray, C. M., Verhoeven, A., de Götzen, A., Bakırlıoğlu, Y., Zohar, H., Stead, M., and Buwert, P. (eds.), DRS2026: Edinburgh, 8–12 June, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.740
Creative Commons License
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Included in
Reciprocal Sensing: Expanding Body Mapping Through Lenca and Mestizo Ontologies of Relational Embodiment
Reciprocal Sensing is an alternative way of body mapping that draws from Indigenous Lenca ontologies, which understand matter as animate and relational. It expands body mapping to account for culturally specific contexts and ways of knowing. The proposed method invites participants to (1) link each felt experience to a worldly source (the non-human agent or co-actor) and (2) visualize the direction of these sensory flows. Using an autoethnographic approach, iterative body mapping sessions revealed recurring patterns of exchange between the body and its material environment. This informed the development of Reciprocal Sensing as a culturally situated, more-than-human perspective to soma design. Grounded in Honduran Lenca and Mestizo perspectives, our approach builds on embodied knowledge as shaped through environmental reciprocity and opens body mapping to reflect indigenous ways of such relational embodiment.